A Failure's Success
by Sal-91
Summary: A single Jutsu was all that kept Naruto from exploring ninja life a little earlier. An year or two for others may not matter much, but in the case of a Naruto who's finally decided to learn from his failures, how much of a difference would it make...? A somewhat smarter Naruto graces the Ninja world a little earlier.
1. Chapter 1

Here he was again.

Uzumaki Naruto was always known as a loud mouthed fool who didn't have any idea about the real world. Many saw his persistent confidence in himself and found annoyance, especially considering the life that people made him go through, no child growing up in that kind of environment had any right to be as self-assured as he seemed to be.

But the truth is, Naruto is a child with a heart as big as the mountain he claimed his head would be on, joining those who've been overlooking the village in life and in death. And this was one of those times where that little facet proved to be too painful to possess.

Covered in near-darkness, with only a small amount of moon-light streaking in through his little home's window, Naruto sat on his bed, hugging a pillow clad in his sleep-wear with his favourite hat covering his blond, spiky hair sadly replaying the sound of his teacher's voice in his head.

"You've failed."

It wasn't the first time either, and that fact made it all worse for poor Naruto. He was always one to believe in himself, what choice did he have afterall, he was alone. He had no one else to count on. So the thought of failing his genin exam the second time made him doubt all he had, and all he had was himself. And that hurt.

Sighing, he got up from his bed, and decided to go out for a while. He didn't like it when his mind started thinking like this. He found that he'd be better off ignoring it until he bounced back as always, to his more cheerful ways.

Putting on a pair of black pair of shorts and an orange T-shirt, Naruto stepped out of his house, into the empty darkness of the night. It was past midnight, and pretty much everyone was asleep. He found that he liked the cold, quiet and dark atmosphere much more than what he was usually accustomed to, by the general public of Konoha.

Making his way through the streets, through the barely noticeable late night crowds, he made his way to his favourite spot in the entire village, on top of the head craving of the late Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves.

With a few lights still burning bright, despite the darkness of night, he once again found peace. And despite the contrary opinions of others, Naruto could think. Think in ways that many others couldn't possible hope to...even if those occasions were rare, they were still there.

So he had failed, now what would he do? Go back to the academy, try again? Surely . If there was one he was sure about, it was that no matter what, he'd become Hokage. For that was his dream. To finally be acknowledged, as Naruto. Not the 'Brat' or 'Demon', why they called him that, he'd always wondered, but as 'Naruto'.

But this time it had to be different. He'd tried the same method twice, and both had failed. He tried going along with everything, all the while hoping things would sort themselves out in the end and he'd become a Shinobi.

Yes. This time he would truly work hard. If that meant studying boring scrolls, listening to his most of the times unfair teacher or even asking other ninja for help, even if that takes numerous attempts, he'll do it.

With that thought in mind, and vision a lot more clearer than before, he left the iconic sight and headed home.

Deep in the woods right outside of Konoha, a man with long silver hair wearing dark blue pants and matching T-shirt, under a green vest waited, and a headband with a swirling leaf pattern imprinted, showcasing his status as a Chunin of Konoha.

It was still dark, and the place was at an acceptable distance from the village. It was the perfect place for his meeting with a certain... beneficial person he was waiting for, leaning on a tree.

Feeling a presence behind the tree infront of him, he called out to it, even though the chakra didn't feel the same, he had no doubts that only He would've known to come to that particular spot.

"Greetings, Oroch-" he started with a smirk, but gradually narrowed his eyes at the unexpected person who'd come out from behind a tree. 'Who are you?' he asked, getting ready in the event of being compromised.

The figure wore round glasses, and had a similar but darker shade of silver hair. He smiles and answers, 'A servant of Orochimaru-sama, Kabuto Yakushi. I trust you know why I'm here?'

'Ofcourse. Here's the current crop of them. They all seem useless, compared to ofcourse, what we'll be having next year. He's the one Orochimaru-sama really wants, right?' He says a bit disappointed, though in retrospect he guesses he shouldn't have actually expected the Sannin himself to show up here, and hands the now named Kabuto a folder.

"Just because they're useless doesn't mean we shouldn't keep an eye on them. And you may just be right, about that Mizuki." Kabuto says, already heading away from Mizuki, and stops again. "And do well to remember the next phase of the plan...and the rewards that'll accompany them for you from us upon their completion." Kabuto seemingly reminds him, bringing a grin to the Chunin's face.

Power, more power than he could imagine. That was his precious reward, for the completion of the plan.

Mizuki doesn't reply, only nods his head at the reminder with a grin. Taking that as the cue, Kabuto disappears into the dark, as all ninja do, with Mizuki joining him a second later, heading back to Konoha.

Inside Konoha-

Upon a few minutes of re-entering the village, Mizuki comes across an interesting sight. A head covered with spiky blond hair sticking out from the darkness of the village, he makes his mind up.

This plan wasn't supposed to take place till much later, until the next year. But this was the perfect opportunity. He'd get the stupid demon into trouble an year earlier than he thought, and get the power Orochimaru-sama promised him for handing him the Forbidden Scroll. He'd be more than happy, Mizuki was willing to bet, especially since he'd still be in a good position to monitor Uchiha Sasuke's progress in the academy. Who knows, with Orochimaru's gift, he may even be able to become the Uchiha's Jounin sensei and keep an even closer watch on him, it'd all end up well!

Besides, would enacting the plan an year earlier really seem detrimental to his cause?

Ofcourse not... or so he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the perfect plan. Rue the demon into stealing the scroll for him, and take it off of him after finally disposing of him. He'd not only be considered a hero by some for putting an end to that menace, but also be rewarded by Orochimaru-sama himself!

With that in mind, Mizuki walked towards Naruto, who seemed to have been lost in thought as he was heading home, approaching him from behind, and startling the hell out of him when he gently kept his hand on his shoulder and called out to him.

"Hello Naruto-kun", he started, smiling. But any trained Ninja could see the scowl that was plainly hidden behind it, and fortunately for him, Naruto was not.

"Mizuki-sensei! You scared me there." Naruto gasped out, clearly unsettled from having been interrupted from his thoughts out of the blue.

"You're an aspiring Ninja, aren't you Naruto-kun? You should be more aware of your surroundings." Truthfully it was better off having him believe the contrary, but for this part of the plan, he was supposed to earn Naruto's trust. While it made him sick to even think of showing any kind of kindness to the demon, deception was necessary here. It was also one of his specialities as a ninja afterall.

He wouldn't have survived doing what he had been doing otherwise.

"I'm sorry sensei, I'll try to next time." Said an embarrassed Naruto, rubbing the back of his head as he usually did when realizing he did something sheepishly like that.

"It's alright. Say Naruto-kun... you wouldn't happen to feel bad about your failure during the Genin Exam today, would you?" Mizuki asked knowingly, 'It's clear to anyone that the demon is seemingly upset about his failure to have acquired the headband for the second time in a row, because of the same jutsu nonetheless.'

"Of course not! I'll just have to wait one more year to show everyone what an awesome ninja the Future Hokage is gonna be!" He exclaimed confidently. The confidence to succeed was always there in him, but this time it was a little different. His eyes had a more stronger, firmer look to them that they had the last time. It made Mizuki frown internally, 'What is this thing I'm feeling...looking at him?'.

Mizuki had ignored it however, he didn't want to believe in something so obviously stupid like that. He was bound to succeed and get the power he desired.

"Maybe you'd actually be qualified to go through the next phase then." Mizuki smiled, just a little more goading, and he'll have Naruto right where he wanted him.

"Next phase? What are you talking about, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, bewildered. Seriously, what was he talking about? He hadn't heard of anything like that. Failing meant you failed, end of story, right? Despite wishing for the contrary, he knew hoping against hope would only cause him hurt.

But that never stopped him now, did it? He was stronger than that.

"Say Naruto-kun, have you heard about the special test given to those who've been unable to pass the first test?" Mizuki asked him, amusement tickling in his voice at seeing the demon's hopeful gaze at him.

"A special test? Does that mean that there's a chance that I can still pass, Mizuki-sensei?!" Naruto asked excitedly. He could hardly believe it. Even though he'd never heard about this special test before, it did seem somewhat suspicious, even to him. Why would he approach him about it now, so late at night and not in the Academy itself?

But now that he thought about it, didn't he just promise himself that he'd go through anything to pass? Especially when it meant he'd have to listen to his teachers?

And with that thought in his mind, Naruto made his decision. He'd ace this special test, whatever it was.

* * *

Not for the first time did naruto doubted what he was doing was right. But what other choice did he have? There must've been some reason to this 'mission' that mizuki had given him, and he fully intended to find out. If that included him learning a Jutsu that he hadn't learned before, it was a good bonus, as far as he was concerned.

Making his way through the canopy of trees in the highest speed he could muster up, Naruto made his way to the spot that Mizuki had designated him to go to. Landing on the ground with barely a sound, something that only he his age could do, despite not knowing about that little fact, clad in his black shorts and orange T-shirt with a large scroll that had 'Forbidden' imprinted on it tightened around his back, he looked around to see a somewhat large clearing infront of a small wooden house.

This was where the second phase of the test started. Not only was he to steal the scroll from the library, but he was also required to learn atleast one jutsu from it, to compensate his inability to do the Bunshin no jutsu. Naruto could see why this was labeled as a Special test, for it was much more practical and 'ninja-like' than the original genin test. Even though others would've found this test much more difficult than the original, there was no doubt about its suitability to naruto's much more… practical way of learning.

Setting the scroll on the ground, still aflamed with the determination he'd gathered prior to this event, Naruto opened the scroll fully intent on learning whatever he could.

The first Jutsu he saw was a variant of the technique he was the worst at. 'That doesn't matter, I have to do this!' Naruto though, already intending to just try out the justu by aligning his two of his fingers from each hand in a 'cross', not even bothering to read the description and text that accompanied the Jutu's handseal, he remembered something important. Something he should'nt have ever forgotten, especially now.

Wasn't he supposed to take stuff a little more seriously now? Not too seriously, obviously. That way it wouldn't be fun. But the way he was before...not thinking about what he was doing as much as he should've, not knowing as much as he should've even though he could, there was a better way to do this. One that'd make his dream all the more achievable by making this somewhat easier and more effective for him.

In his brashness he'd forgotten to read the description like he should've. What if it had carried some more information that he may have not known and one that could prove to be very much useful for him? 'There had to be a reason for all that text to be there right?' he thought, and felt a little ashamed of it. He'd just promised to do things in a different way, and yet he was a second away from acting like a child again.

What kind of a Hokage would he be, if were so prone to not knowing as much as he could about what he does. Besides, despite not being the strategical type of person, Naruto was a very good person at thinking on the fly. Which meant that his brain actually operated at quite high speed when he really wanted to. So reading through the description was done quickly enough.

By the time was over, three hours had passed, and it was just about an hour away from sunset. It was a good thing the days were shorter because of the winter, as it meant he'd have more time to finish his 'special test', for Mizuki had said that he would come back to evaluate him and his performance any minute now, id est, an hour or so before sunrise.

Boy was his sensei going to be surprised. He thought with a happy smirk. He was definitely going to ace this test, Dattebayo!

Mizuki wouldn't know what hit him. Literally. Now he just had to fit in a little more practice while waiting for him.

He wanted to practice as much as he could, afterall. Especially something as important as this. He wouldn't fail.

* * *

Reaching the clearing he'd told Naruto to come in after 'obtaining' the scroll from the Hokage's building, Mizuki could barely hold the excitement for his plan finally clicking into place. 'Just a few more steps to go!' he thought, wickedly, already dreaming of leaving the wretched village and almost feeling the taste of the power that'll be granted to him.

Looking around for the blond boy, he found him leaning on a tree just next to the small hut that accompanied them in the clearing. He looked pretty tired, panting and leaning on the tree with his right arm for support. Maybe he'd actually been able to learn something from the scroll, despite it being implausible. No matter. It's not like it mattered anyway. He was going to rid of him in a few minutes afterall.

Making his presence known to Naruto, by putting an end to his stealthy walk towards him, he called out to the blond not knowing that his presence was already known to the aspiring Ninja.

"Hey Naruto! looks like you passed with flying colours, afterall. Well done." Mizuki said, smirking darkly while walking toward Naruto in a slow pace, one of his hands already moving to take out a Kunai. Naruto seemed exhausted, and because of his ignorance to Mizuki's plan, right now was the perfect time to take him down. The Anbu would surely be on his way now. Despite making it a little easier for Naruto to get into the Hokage's mansion and out, they were bound to find out what had happened. He'd give credit to the demon for sneaking in and stealing the scroll perfectly though, and with the noticeable damage to the clearing in the for of various burn marks here and there, he may have managed to learn some sort of Jutsu too, from the scroll as he'd been instructed to.

It was a shame that the Demon that he wouldn't live to see the fruits of his efforts though. Though Mizuki doubted a demon was deserving of any such sympathy for it was and what it had done.

"Of course I did Mizuki Sensei! ...but wasn't I supposed to show you the Jutsu I learned first?" Naruto asked suspiciously, for some reason utterly unknown to him, he was having a very, very bad feeling about this.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun... but the Anbu are going to be here any minute, so I'll take my leave now, with your life!" Mizuki screamed out vehemently, slashing the kunai toward the small blond in a horizontal intended to cut off his neck.

...It was interrupted, however, by a Kunai that was blocked by the very target it was aimed for. Naruto held on and pushed back the Kunai with all his might until they were at a standstill, Naruto's shocked gaze looking straight at Mizuki's hateful gaze. And from this distance, being exposed to this much hatred when he was unable to see it prior to this very moment, was almost too much to bear for Naruto.

But He couldn't give up now. Not now, not ever. He had a dream to fulfill, and godamnit he will!

"So you're one of them too, huh? You hate me too." Naruto said, bitterly, tinged with sadness. 'So all that kindness was an act, afterall. I should've known.' He thought sadly.

"You're stupid enough to still ask me that, Demon?" He asked, laughing all the while. "It doesn't matter anyhow. I don't have any time to waste with you." He said, quickly gripping Naruto's unprotected neck, and lifting the little blond with his strength. 'All that's needed now is a little twist, and it's over for him' He thought with a smirk on his face, saying "It's time for you to die now, little fox." And just as he was about to put the necessary pressure to do the deed, Naruto smirked as well. This brought a frown on Mizuki's face.

"I don't think so, Sensei." Came a voice from behind him, as another identical blond walked away from a tree.

'Impossible! I didn't even sense him, why?!' Mizuki screamed in his mind, shocked out of his very wits. he had been outsmarted by a mere Academy student. 'He's going to pay for this!' he thought in absolute rage. From the outside though, he forced himself to calm down. "That's a neat trick there, but do you really think just this would save you?" Mizuki asked, calming down with every word. 'He just fooled me once, now. That doesn't change the fact that I'm still a Chunin and he a mere academy student.' He thought with confidence. "Your end is written here, in this clearing anyway, by me." Mizuki said, with a grin.

Naruto matched it with his own. And it was extremely more effective.

"You're wrong. This is where my story begins, Mizuki-sensei." Naruto said, with a look that made every nerve in Mizuki's body instinctively tell him to run to the other side of the Earth.

"- And where yours ends." The clone Naruto finished, with the same expression as the original. He pulled onto the hand that was grabbing it's neck and said the last words Mizuki would ever hear. "Bunshin Daibakuha." For the millisecond it took for the Jutsu to take the effect, Mizuki's eyes grew till they could grow no more, for it was perhaps the biggest, and most probably last shock he'd have in his life.

Despite not getting much practice with this particular Jutsu, Naruto aimed for the biggest explosion he could handle. He couldn't afford to pull any stops, afterall. And the result was absolutely devastating. The tree surrounding the pair were blown away with the force of the explosion and wind was sent hurtling out at startling speeds, after the resulting shockwave from the blast.

The Bunshin Daibakuha, another variant of the clone jutsu. A jutsu where the Kage Bunshin wouldhave the ability to be deployed into the target's territory and explode, resulting in an effectively devastating explosion. What an incredible jutsu, it was.

As he turned back to cover himself from the explosion, and the blood that would undoubtedly accompany it, Naruto thought about how lucky he was to get out of that alive. The clone was meant to be there as a a demonstration to his newfound mastery of the Kage Bunshin. It was an attempt at showing off his new skills to guarantee his pass.

To think an attempt at showing off saved his life. He was incredibly fortunate.

Even then, that doesn't mean all of this was an entire fluke. If it weren't for his skills at hiding and playing out an act, as he had numerous experiences of, being the resident prankmaster afterall, and also having the two Jutsu to have completed the task, all of this would've been impossible.

No doubt that the entire weight of the situation would come into mind in a bit, but Naruto basked on his accomplishment for the little while he knew he could. His consciousness started giving away, though, just as he felt several four dark figures surround him, wearing masks, he barely noticed.

It had a long night, for him. It was the time to sleep. Naruto fell to the ground, and closed his eyes. And smiled a small smile, 'It's done. I passed." And with that last coherent thought, he let darkness overcome him, just as the sun started to rise.

* * *

'A long night, indeed.' Thought an old man too, watching the events play out through a peculiar crystal ball. "I think you're ready now, Naruto-kun. You've done well..." He smiled under a hat with a symbol for 'Fire' imprinted at the front.

The coming days promised to be interesting, that was for sure.


	3. Chapter 3

Drip. Drip.

That was the sound Naruto woke up to. Opening his eyes, he found himself under a starkly lit hallway. 'Where am I?' was the first thought that went through his head upon waking up in this strange place. What was even stranger though, was that when he looked down, there seemed to be a certain level of water that reached his ankle, yet he didn't feel any wetness. If it weren't for him being able to see it, he would've sworn that this place was actually dry, and his dry clothes would agree as well.

Observing his surroundings, he found a single opening, the only opening he could see in the hallway. The small amount of light that could make his way to him only came through the area behind this opening.

Curious, Naruto stepped towards the opening, leaving ripples in the strange water as he did so. And upon entering the sizeable opening, he found himself inside a large room. It's walls were embodied with pipes running around the whole place, to the other side of the room. The same strange water that existed in the hallway seemed to found it's place here, as well.

Almost in a dream-like state, Naruto walked further into the room, and right infront of him, came face to face with the largest jail he'd ever seen. Its bars were so wide he was sure three or four of him would fit in easily.

He looked up at the cage, and found something even more peculiar. Right in the centre of the cage, where a lock would normally be, a large piece of paper was placed. It was mostly plain, other than the word 'Seal' written on it.

And just as he went closer to the cage, a large eyelid opened from behind the cage, showing the huge eyeball hidden right behind the bars, adorned with a red pupil and a stretched Iris, like that of a snake's or a Fox's.

Naruto stilled in shock at seeing the eye, which caused the figure behind to chuckle, in a deep, rumbling voice that echoed out throughout the whole room. "**Come closer, Boy**." The voice commanded, fully expecting to see the barely conscious boy to do just as he asked. Even if it were stupid to do so, perhaps the little boy wouldn't be at that much of a fault. Expecting someone to go through this with a good head on their shoulders while doing so may have been too much to ask for, afterall.

As Naruto took a step closer to the jail, subconsciously obeying the scary voice, he stopped, not knowing that it'd saved it from one heck of a surprise from a humungous arm that was poised to attack him mere seconds from now.

"I may be an idiot, but I think falling into another trap during the same type would be really stupid, wouldn't it?" Naruto asked hypothetically, not really expecting an answer to his question. Damn he was stupid, or atleast he would've been, why would you walk into something obviously dangerous like that?

The voice from behind the cage merely chuckled once again, " **Despite it being a marginal improvement, atleast you're less stupid than before.**" It, or he, or whatever said. "**It wouldn't do good to have a weak container, afterall**." It added, seemingly in thought.

"A weak container? What are you talking about? And who are you, anyway?!" Naruto asked quickly, feeling himself being pulled from whatever this place was. He could feel his time here running out.

"**You'll know**." Was all he heard back as a reply, as his world bled black.

* * *

Naruto woke up, once again, to find himself in an unfamiliar place. This time it was to a ceiling that was pretty much the opposite of the last one he'd woken up to. It was white, and the whole room was brightly lit, with the scent of medicine not escaping his sense of smell. And upon getting up from the pretty soft bed he was lying on, Naruto found himself undoubtedly in a hospital room.

Thankfully it wasn't as weird and freaky to the last room he'd visited, even if it were boring.

The room was, as one would expect, made predominantly with white marble. It had one bed that was joined with an IV pole, next to which was a bedside table. The table had nothing but a scary looking injection. Naruto hoped that its purpose was already accomplished. He didn't want to be stabbed with that long needle. Yikes. He'd never remembered doing it before and he certainly didn't want to experience it now.

He almost regretted being here after staying in the room for an hour or so. He wouldn't doubt anyone if they were to tell him that this room was built to practically ensure boredom.

But he guessed that after all that'd happened, he'd earned a good rest. It would've all been easier if there was some Ramen here, 'Oh well...', he thought in helplessness. He felt pretty tired too anyway. And he did have a lot to think about the even that had transpired yesterday.

* * *

In the top floor of the Hokage Mansion, a place some called the most important place of Konoha, sat an Old man in his office.

This was no ordinary Old man, though. This one in particular held the title of the 'The professor'. Not only was his intellect was vastly superior to anyone in all of the elemental nations, so was his physical prowess.

No wonder he was called by quite a few people as one of the strongest men to have been living. And it wasn't a reputation he hadn't earned.

Yet, with all of his experiences, wisdom and vast knowledge, he'd never felt like he'd done enough for poor Naruto. Even with the best of intentions, his plans hadn't worked out as well as he would've liked. If he had more time for him, maybe things would've been different, but now was not the time for regret.

He'd seen all of the horrible even that had Naruto and Mizuki mere hours before. It was truly saddening to think that a Shinobi of Konoha would carry such fierce hatred for one of his own, despite his beliefs to the contrary. Perhaps the fact that he was a traitor and not really a part of Konoha softened the blow, but it was still unacceptable.

Konoha owes much to Uzumaki Naruto. And not only because of his parents, but also because who, and what he was. It was time to make amends. And this was the best opportunity to do just that. Small though as it seemed, but it was still a start. And Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime(third) Hokage of Konoha (the Village Hidden in the Leaves) was not known to pass own golden opportunities to set things right like this.

There was a knock on the door, and after being granted permission to come in from the most powerful man in a land that stretched for thousands for miles, in came a man dressed in a standard Chunin uniform. His hair was done in a short ponytail, with a kind yet firm face, adorned with a horizontal mark that ran over his nose. He also had a pack of papers that he held at his side.

This was also the man Hiruzen was waiting for. Umino Iruka. Chunin. A teacher in the Ninja Academy. Looking at his face, he couldn't help but remember the small boy he'd comforted infront of the monument stone, eleven years ago, after the tragic attack of the Kyubi no Kitsune that had slaughtered so many innocent lives, including that of young Iruka's parents.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Greeted the ever-polite Umino Iruka. Despite his persistent desire for him and everyone else to follow the rules, he was a kind man at heart, always intending to do the best for everybody. It made the Hokage happy, to have people like him under his command. Not only ones that he could trust, but he was also one of those he could trust to do the right thing.

"To you as well, Iruka-san. Have you brought what I've asked you to bring?" Hiruzen inquired, kindly.

"Yes Hokage-sama, I have. May I ask why I was called here? These could've easily been sent through the proper channels, as they always are." Iruka asked, confusedly, indicating the set of documents in his hand. It wasn't normal for the Hokage to call him like this for such an issue, afterall. Usually the new genin teams get through to the Hokage's approval not through him, but the Academy itself at predetermined, and fixed, times.

"I've called you here to administer another last test for a candidate for the rank of Genin. He's a boy who's gone through some... unique circumstances, because of which, I've deemed him worthy of another chance at the Genin exam. As the official examiner of the Academy, you are to determine whether he is to pass or fail, depending upon his performance. He has already proven himself satisfactory at most areas, except the Ninjutsu portion of the exam." He explained, in a kind, yet firm tone.

As Iruka nodded slowly, despite being unsure why some kid who had failed was been given another chance, Hiruzen thought about why he was doing what he was doing.

He was the Hokage, true. And of course he had the power to make Naruto a Genin with a mere command. But that would imply that he favoured someone even though they had failed. A Hokage would have bigger worries to worry about, afterall. Using his time and influence to pass an Academy student who had previously failed would raise quite a few eyebrows, and he didn't want Naruto to think he was doing him any favours. He wanted Naruto to know that he'd earned this himself. He was merely giving the boy an opportunity to prove himself, which Hiruzen knew he could do.

And plus, him passing through the very person who had originally failed him on his previous attempt made it more legit. Add to that fact Iruka held the original authority when it came to awarding the headband to students, meant that, that would give Naruto official credibility.

He was merely giving Naruto another go at it. The rest was up to him.


End file.
